Ayurveda

A-yur-what…..? Ay-ur-ve-da….
What on earth is that?

If this is what you’re thinking as you read this, you’re certainly not alone! That was me when I first heard of Ayurveda. It took me months to be able to say it, and even longer to spell it. A few years down the line, Ayurveda has become an established part of my life and I’ve grown to love and appreciate this holistic approach to health and well-being. 

So, what it it? Ayurveda is an ancient healing system which originated in India. Its name comes from two Sanskrit words, ‘ayur’ which means life and ‘veda’ meaning knowledge. So it can broadly be seen as the ‘knowledge of life’. Ayurveda shows us an integrated and holistic approach to health and well-being. 

Ayurveda sees each of us as unique, and part of the world around us. It provides a framework for understanding ourselves, and a system for bringing balance through simple changes to our day-to-day lives. This can include things like diet and nutrition, lifestyle, daily or seasonal routine, therapeutic herbs and natural supplements, therapies, yoga, meditation, breathwork and mantra. In this way it works with the laws of nature and the principle of like-attracts-like to help a person to align with their original nature and seek balance to live a happy, healthy and long life. 

You might find a quick google search of Ayurveda brings results about the 3 doshas (Vata, Pitta, Kapha), 5 elements (earth, air, fire, water, space), 3 gunas (Tamas, Rajas, Sattva), 3 vital essences (Prana, Tejas, Ojas) and more. Do you need to understand these terms to benefit from it? Absolutely not…. unless you want to. You may also see that the pathways Ayurveda uses to improve health and well-being include Diet, Life-syle, Therapies (like massage), Therapeutic Herbs and Natural Supplements, Yoga, Meditation, Breath-work and Mantra.  Do you have to work with all of these methods? Again, not unless you want to. In fact, It's helpful to pick one or two which you really like (at least to begin with) and then explore the others if and when it feels right for you. 

The key for me when I discovered Ayurveda was finding the right place to start, and having a sense of curiosity about what it could offer. I found it really helpful to have a coach to guide me. If you’d like to explore what Ayurvedic Health Coaching could mean to you, please get in touch or book a consultation.